


Four-Legged Friend

by kristen999



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 16:05:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12485492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristen999/pseuds/kristen999
Summary: Steve wanted to bond with Eddie on their hike; he got a lot more than he bargained for.





	Four-Legged Friend

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I needed something self-indulgent. It was fun. :)
> 
> Thank you to Esteefee for all her suggestions!

***

Hitting the trail on a Sunday morning was Zen; there was nothing like being out in nature. The air was thick with humidly and the scent of Baraboo orchids and Macaw flowers. Steve was almost tempted to pluck a ripe guava from a hanging tree branch, but he didn’t want to slow his pace. 

As he ran further, the sound of the near-by river faded and the steady panting of Eddie grew louder beside him. 

His lips curved into a smile in between huffs of air. “What do you say, boy...want to go faster?”

Eddie’s head jerked up at the sound of Steve’s voice and he barked in response, either to Steve’s tone or his enthusiasm. It was hard to tell. Steve was still learning Eddie’s reactions to various behaviors. The canine had been trained as a warrior then as a DEA sniffer; he was a working dog still trying to understand his new role as Steve’s companion.

But his new buddy sure loved to run, and this was their time to bond.

“Let’s go!” Steve called out. 

The jungle made his skin sticky, and his clothes and hair slick with perspiration. He could feel his heart pound inside his chest from the exertion of running on a steeper incline. 

This was freedom; sudden spurts of speed, his feet pounding through a tropical rain forest, and the therapeutic stretching of his legs. Five miles done five to go, Eddie’s tail wagging to its own rhythm.

There was something magical about reaching the six-mile mark. Steve could relax and stop thinking (or obsessing) about every little thing in his life. The restaurant, monthly doctor appointments, unsolved cases. Danny.

Always Danny. After seven years they’d finally decided to take the next step with each other, the last few weeks both exhilarating and terrifying. So, many what-ifs, so many …

Steve picked up his speed and emptied out his head to focus on the rhythm of the run, his heartbeat, and the pull of muscle. Every mile was tough, every mile earned. But eventually something clicked, and he entered that happy place.

Hawaii was gorgeous landscapes and ocean, mountains and trails. Not to mention unpredictable weather. 

Fat droplets pelted Steve’s nose, followed by a steady drizzle. Steve stopped and lifted up his face, the rain turning into a heavy downpour.

Eddie barked at the falling water and shook his head, spraying water in various directions.

“I don’t think that’s gonna help,” Steve said, looking down at him. 

The tree line obscured the sky, and Steve walked until he was closer to the ridge and could study the darkening clouds. With the rising moisture in the air and an approaching cold front, there’d been a chance for heavier rain. But Steve thought it would hit later in the afternoon.

“I guess we’re not going to conquer this today, huh?” 

Steve had been looking forward to taking Eddie higher up on the trail so they could look down at the lush valley below. 

Of course Eddie wouldn’t care about a little bad weather. He ran up the incline and looked back at Steve, snorting happily.

But the storm continued, water seeping into Steve’s t-shirt and running shoes. “I’m sorry, buddy. But I think we should head back.” He made a mental note how much Eddie loved the rain.

Eddie ran back down toward Steve, kicking up rocks and pebbles as he went. Steve bent down and rubbed at his wet fur. “I’ll tell you what, we’ll stick to this path going back down, because the last thing I want us to do is to trudge through a bunch of jungle muck.”

The one thing about hiking on the islands, there were always various routes to take. It’d take a little longer to go around the rain forest, but Steve preferred keeping to a clearer path.

Eddie’s ears perked to the side as he waited for Steve’s command. Steve patted the side of his hip. “Come on; let’s go home.”

That’s all it took. Eddie raced ahead, Steve jogging behind. He measured his steps, keeping an eye on the ground as the wind picked up and blew rain into his eyes.

Gravity wasn’t his friend as he tried to keep steady on the descent. He remained vigilant, wary of lightning, when he heard a rumble of thunder – followed by a crashing sound. By the time Steve looked behind him at the source of the noise, a set of large boulders started rolling down the hill.

Adrenaline surged through him, but though Steve bolted toward the trees and off the rocky trail, Eddie several strides ahead of him. But something struck Steve’s legs and the Earth rushed up to meet him. His body smacked the ground; a sharp pain blossomed at his temple, then nothing.

***

Steve’s head throbbed, his mouth tasted like dirt, and someone was shouting at him. He took a deep breath, but all it did was ignite a flare of pain in his chest, sharp and biting. Broken rib. 

Awareness was a horrible headache and the pain from a split lip. Steve swallowed, squeezing his eyes closed then opening them again, blinking. He was flat on his belly, and he tasted dust and blood. Why was he lying down?

Something nuzzled his hand then his cheek before Steve realized it was Eddie’s wet nose. 

“Hey…” Steve said roughly. 

Eddie lowered his head and barked. Steve cringed, figuring out the source of the earlier noise. He lifted his head, causing his vision to grey around the edges and nausea to swirl inside his stomach. Panting, Steve calmed his racing heart by breathing through his nose and out his mouth, the movement hurting his chest.

Craning his neck, he realized that he was sprawled on the ground with a giant boulder pinning him against a thick banyan tree. There were several more rocks sprinkled across his back, but Steve didn’t have the strength to do much about them. He could feel the boulder pinning his right leg, and his left leg was wedged against the tree from the combined force of the boulder and his own body weight.

Panic swelled inside him, but he forced it to the back of his mind. Then a rough tongue licked his cheek, and Steve saw Eddie’s muzzle in his line of sight, the dog making high-pitched whimpering sounds. 

“I…know, it’s…it’s going to be all right. Just…um…give me a second.”

But the adrenaline rush that propelled him to consciousness started to fade, his ability to stay awake along with it.

Eddie began whining and there wasn’t anything Steve could do to soothe him.

***

A staccato sound sent warning signals in Steve’s mind, a trained response that forced his eyes open. The noise continued until he realized it was Eddie’s upset barking.

“It’s…okay, boy,” he gasped between breaths. Steve groaned and tried to move, forgetting for a moment about his predicament. Focus. His legs were trapped, but what about the rest of him? 

The rain must have created a small rock slide, knocking him over. The tree probably prevented the boulders from completely crushing him, but he was still trapped between barriers of rock and wood. 

When he tried to move his right arm, Steve realized it was trapped under his body. Even if he could search for his cell phone, he doubted he’d be able to remove it from the pocket of his running shorts. 

His left arm however was stretched out in front of him. How did he not notice that before? Concussion. The side and front of his head hurt, probably from more than one impact. 

He wiggled his left fingers. Eddie ran over and began licking them then he crouched low again, and waited. 

“Sorry, buddy.” Steve swallowed against another wave of dizziness; his skull felt like it’d been split in two. “I…I can’t move anything else.”

It started to rain again. Or had it ever stopped? The ground under his face was pretty wet. If it started to get muddy…

Steve licked his lips. “Eddie.”

Eddie barked, excited, but he kept his nose low, listening for Steve’s command.

“Find Danny,” Steve said, enunciating his partner’s name. 

Eddie lifting up his head and barked.

“Get Danny,” Steve said again. Eddie knew Danny; maybe he’d make the connection. 

It was a complicated order, so Steve kept it simple by reciting Danny’s name, over and over again. The pain in his head made it too difficult to remain awake to see how Eddie responded.

***

Danny typically reserved Sunday morning for quality time with his children, but Rachel had Charlie and Grace this weekend, leaving a rare day off. Okay, maybe just a rare morning, since he was pulling into Steve’s driveway so they could have a working lunch about the restaurant. 

They were going to have words about paint colors and maybe some quality alone time. The thought stirred giddiness inside his chest. Danny shook his head at how goofy Steve could make him feel, like a damn teenager.

Parking his car, he stared at the empty spot where Steve’s truck should have been. He checked his watch; Steve was supposed to be back from his hike two hours ago. Sighing, Danny decided his partner’s tardiness gave him license to raid his kitchen. He switched off his windshield wipers and sat there annoyed; his umbrella was still hanging on a hook at home.

He got out of his car and was pulling out his copy of the keys to Steve’s house when he heard a loud noise. Looking around, he saw Eddie sprint toward him. The dog’s eyes were wide, ears flat, and a growl vibrated from his chest and erupted into a rapid series of barks.

“Hey, there. Whatcha doing?”

Eddie ran a circle around Danny before jumping toward him, as excited as Danny had ever seen him. Danny tried patting his head, but the dog dashed toward the end of the driveway and stood there barking. 

Confused, Danny went to the front door and let himself in, allowing it to remain partially open with the dog still wandering around. “Yo, Steve. Someone other than me is really upset at you.”

Despite the fact that his truck wasn’t here, Danny figured Steve might be around since Eddie was outside. It only took a minute to confirm that Steve wasn’t home. Pulling out his cell phone, Danny dialed Steve’s number, the call ringing until it went to voicemail.

Eddie burst through the door, still agitated, barking loudly. Eddie was a disciplined police dog; Danny had been around enough of them to recognize he was exhibiting a trained response to something important.

Crouching, Danny looked at the canine. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Eddie responded by running back out the door.

“Okay, I guess I’m supposed to follow you into the rain.”

He went outside, dialing Steve’s phone again, the call going to voicemail for the second time. His gut twisted with anxiety.

Eddie ran toward the end of the driveway. Releasing a long breath, Danny studied the dog’s behavior, knowing he wanted Danny to follow him. If Steve was in trouble, it had to be a distance away since the truck was gone.

“Where were you and Steve going hiking today?” Danny ran a hand over his face, thinking. Steve had told him, but Danny only half paid attention. 

“Wait,” he snapped his fingers. “Steve was taking you to the trail he and I went on last month.” 

Danny walked back to his car and held open the passenger side door. “Come on, this is quicker.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised Eddie jumped into the seat; Danny just hoped the dog really could lead him to Steve.

***

It only took a few minutes to drive to the trail, which explained how Eddie could have reached Steve’s house. Danny didn’t know a ton about animal behavior but going to Steve’s place was probably the best way to seek out anyone the dog might know…at least that’s what Danny told himself. Animals had been known to track their families for hundreds of miles.

Getting out of the car, Danny opened the door for Eddie, who jumped out and took off. 

The trail was slick with rain, and Danny hurried as fast as he could while making sure he didn’t slip and crack his head open. Eddie stopped and turned around every few minutes, waiting on Danny to catch-up.

Danny started yelling Steve’s name. 

Maybe he should have called for some back-up, but he couldn’t imagine how that conversation would sound to the rest of the team. That didn’t stop the way his chest ached in worry, wondering what he was about to stumble onto.

“Steve!”

Climbing the trail was hard work, and Danny must have been walking for over half an hour, his hair soaked, his shoes sodden with water. But Eddie wouldn’t let up, and Danny’s heart beat faster with every passing minute, his brain imagining things like how Steve might have fallen over a cliff, or that one of their enemies had killed him and dumped Steve’s body in the jungle.

Danny yelled Steve’s name again, his pulse racing.

Eddie ran toward Danny, then back toward the edge of some trees, the dog whining.

Danny’s gut clenched when he realized Eddie stood protectively over Steve, who lay prone, his body pinned between some boulders and a freaking enormous tree.

“Steve!” Danny crouched over him, hands searching Steve’s neck for a pulse. He found a slow beat beneath his fingertips, his shoulders sagging in relief. “Thank God. Steve, Steve, it’s Danny.”

Steve’s forehead lay on his outstretched arm, keeping his nose and mouth out of the mud. Eddie nudged Steve’s hand, and Danny patted the dog. “You did a good, he’s going to be fine,” he said, before pulling out his cell phone. 

Taking a deep breath, Danny called Jerry, relaying his need for an Army Medivac before returning his attention to Steve.

“Babe, can you hear me?” Danny ran a hand through Steve’s hair, careful and tender. His fingers found a swollen lump at the base of his skull and bruising at his right temple. “Come on, Steve, talk to me.”

He scanned the rubble and the boulders trapping Steve. Unable to do much about the heavy one, Danny removed the ones strewn across Steve’s back. 

“You can’t go anywhere without someone or nature trying to kill you.” But his voice shook despite how hard he tried to remain calm. “Come on, just tell me to shut up or argue with me about how Mother Earth is a beautiful thing, and this is all part of life’s great experiences.”

He sat on the ground next to Steve, Eddie standing guard on the other side. Danny stroked a comforting hand over Steve’s shoulders, rubbing circles on the base of his neck. “Please, Steve, just give me a signal that thick skull of yours protected your brain.” Danny took Steve’s limp hand into his, intertwining their fingers. “Do you remember how awesome it was the last time you got airlifted out of a jungle, huh?” Breath hitching, he whispered, “I’m not going anywhere and I never will.”

“D’nny?”

Heart pounding, Danny leaned over so Steve could hear him. “Yeah, I’m right here.”

“…knew….you’d come.”

Steve gripped Danny’s hand with his cold fingers and Danny brought them to his lips, kissing them. “Yeah, well you have Eddie to thank this time.”

He heard the approach of a chopper in the air, and Eddie looked up, his tongue flopping out of his mouth. Danny nodded at the dog. “You want to lead them here?”

It shouldn’t have surprised Danny that Eddie ran right below where the military chopper hovered as one of the rangers started to propel down, the canine greeting the rescue operator as his boots hit the ground. 

“I think you and him have a connection,” Danny said, squeezing Steve's hand. “Not that it’s a surprise or anything.”

“I…owe you one….”

“Maybe a six pack of beer, but you owe Eddie a steak dinner.”

Danny watched as the Army Medic hurried toward them, Danny moving enough for Steve to get the care he needed.

***

The sun beat down on Steve’s face as he sat in his chair on the lanai. His bad leg was stretched out in front of him, cocooned in a soft cast, the Velcro tabs going from his knee to his ankle. He had a hairline fracture of the tibia where the boulder had pinned him, but miraculously no crush injury. The rest of his body was covered in bruises, including a broken rib. He’d been lucky.

“You’re a freak of nature,” Danny had told him in the hospital.

His concussion had been the most problematic thing, the double vision a pain in the ass. But now, he basked in warmth of the day, enjoying the fresh ocean breeze.

He heard Danny open the sliding glass door and begin padding down to the beach. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you almost got smashed by rocks just so I could cook for you.”

“Busted,” Steve said. He watched with amusement as Eddie trotted beside Danny, tail wagging in delight. “I think you made a new buddy.”

Upon hearing his voice, Eddie made a bee-line toward Steve and went for a head scratch by his chair. Steve rubbed Eddie’s ears, the dog flopping down on the ground by Steve’s feet and yawning.

“I think we both know who his favorite is,” Danny said, placing a tray of sandwiches on a little table between their chairs. He smiled at Eddie who had rolled onto his side, content.

“You didn’t hesitate following him,” Steve said. 

“Who has time for hesitation these days?” 

Steve ducked his head and Danny rolled his eyes at him. “We may hold the Guinness Book of World Records for finally getting together, but this?” he said, waving a hand between them. “This is a beautiful thing.”

There was no hesitation when Danny wandered over, leaned down, and kissed him. Steve wrapped a hand around Danny’s neck, running his fingers through Danny's hair, his toes curling.

“This latest adventure with nature has resulted in some unexpected downtime. I say we take advantage of it,” Danny mumbled in Steve’s ear.

“I think that’s a really good idea.”

Eddie made a soft snuffling noise and Steve couldn’t help the grin that tugged his lips. He’d wait until he was healed up before suggesting a stunning waterfall for the three of them to visit.

***

Fini-


End file.
